Fears
by obsessed1
Summary: John and Rodney are captured. H/C for both characters. Written for the Secret Santa fic exchange challenge 2008


**Title:** Fears  
**Author:** Obsessed1o1  
**Rating:** PG  
**Characters:** John Sheppard, Rodney McKay,  
**Genre**: H/C, Gen  
**Spoilers:** No spoilers  
**Disclaimer:** Stargate and all related characters are the property of MGM. No infringements of rights intended.  
**A/N:** Prompt at the end. I seriously struggled with my prompt - for various reasons, so i hope this does it justice. Unbeta'ed.

**Written fo**r: x_erika_x

The front portal cracks and McKay barely has time to draw breath before the Jumper is filling with freezing cold water. Sheppard had managed to fire off one order before he was submerged and it consisted of "Get the hell out of-"

Although unfinished, McKay shares the sentiment and kicks his way through the broken glass.

The water is dark and suddenly he feels overwhelmingly claustrophobic. He's disorientated and can't remember which way was up and which way was down. The Puddlejumper is still falling into the depths and he realizes that Sheppard is nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he was confused as well, what with being injured. Maybe he's already at the surface.

He kicks his legs and tries to use his hands to push him in the direction he hopes is up, but a stabbing pain from his shoulder has him releasing the breath he was holding and bubbles stream out of his mouth.

It's when his vision is graying out that he feels the strong hand connect with his bicep. He tries to concentrate on not breathing in a lungful of water, something that eventually happens a millisecond before he breaks the surface of the water.

Then he's on the bank, hands pressed into cold mud and coughing up that aforementioned lungful.

"We need to get out of…here," he rasps, even though he's desperate to give into exhaustion. "Sheppard?"

When he turns he wants to be sick. Galen, their captor, is sitting with his head bowed.

"Where is Sheppard?"

Galen gets to his feet and pushes a hand through his hair. "Still down there."

And then stalks off towards the trees without a backward glance.

---------------------------------------------

Sometimes Sheppard scares him. He gives the illusion of being laid back, but it's always belayed an undercurrent of anger and a freak ability to detach himself from dangerous situations.

When they were captured on a scouting mission to PX-593, Sheppard had remained frighteningly calm. He had tried to reason with their captors, handed his weapon over willingly when they threatened him, but all the time, there was a dark and dangerous look in his eyes.

They had been forced back to the Jumper and when Sheppard played ignorant about its exact location, firing off quips about "not remembering where he parked," and remarking, "That he still had an hour on the meter." he was struck across the face with the butt of his gun. He sank to his knees silently and didn't reach up in an attempt to staunch the blood beginning to drip down his face. Instead, he calmly made eye contact with their captors, one by one, as if memorizing their faces and de-cloaked the Jumper.

McKay was pushed and coerced up the ramp and into the chair behind the pilot's seat. Sheppard didn't immediately sit down.

"I know this is an Ancient ship," their captor said. "And I know that you need to have the gene to operate it."

Sheppard, who was stood there, hands dug into his pockets shrugged. "Our pilot is-"

He was kicked in the back of the leg. He half crouched; half stayed upright, but _again_ didn't react.

"And I know you possess that gene, Colonel. Please, take a seat."

Sheppard did so, exchanging a glance with McKay, before easing himself into his chair.

"So, where to?" Sheppard asked.

"Just fly straight….we'll give you the co-ordinates once we're in the air."

"I always wanted Sat Nav," Sheppard remarked cheerfully.

He closed the ramp with a thought, engaged the engines and took them up into the clouds.

"Just keep your eyes straight ahead," their captor mutters darkly.

Sheppard nods and McKay's already worried. He's going to do something stupid. He can feel it.

McKay crosses his arms defiantly. "What are you planning on doing with us?"

"That's none of your concern right now."

"Oh really?" He laughs bitterly. "None of my concern? I think you'll find being kidnapped is one of my main concerns right now and-"

"McKay…can it!" The edge to Sheppard's voice startles him, but he answers back regardless.

"I want to know what they're going to do with us, Sheppard!"

"I'm sure they'll tell us in good time."

One of the men, a stocky guy with greasy hair, is jumping up and tensing. "What are you doing?"

McKay's confused. Is this it?

"I'm flying. Like you told me."

The leader looks between the two men. "Galen?"

"He's steering us towards the storm clouds."

Sheppard twists in his seat momentarily and tells them. "It's either that or I fly us into a mountain side."

The leader of their group doesn't look worried. After all, he's got Sheppard's resting over his knee. "Go over the mountain…avoid the storm."

"The air's gonna get sucked up the top of the mountain….the rides going to be rough. It'll be safer to head straight through the clouds…."

McKay isn't quite sure about his logic. It shouldn't make much difference with the inertial dampeners. The clouds ahead look angry and he's already seen three spikes fill them with light. That's the more dangerous of the options.

Sheppard returns to the forward portal. "I've done this a hundred times."

The leader doesn't question him again. "Well you better be sure," he says, releasing the safety on the gun as if he had done it a hundred times before.

They approached the clouds; dark and thick and swirling.

"Sheppard, are you sure about-"

"Better buckle up McKay, it's going to be a bumpy ride."

McKay swallows thickly, knowing Sheppard has something planned. He curls his fingers around the arm rest and leans forward, ready to brace himself. Sheppard has clipped himself into his seat and he too seems to be anticipating more than just a 'bumpy ride'.

The leader, their captor, fusses with his own harness and readjusts the position of his weapon.

Sheppard steers them into the bank of clouds. An image comes up on the HUD and a minute later they're dropping out of the sky, skimming the tops of trees and being struck by lightening. There's an almighty bang and they're skidding across the ground and towards a lake.

---------------------------------------------

McKay wakes to the sound of creaking; systems beeping and the overwhelming smell of scorched metal and blood. He realizes sluggishly that his hands are tied behind his back and that he's been relocated to the rear compartment of the Jumper. He straightens up slowly, testing each limb in turn to make sure there aren't any breaks and miraculously he's just escaped with a few bruises.

Sheppard has been propped up against the opposite bench. He's bleeding from a cut on his forehead but otherwise appears to be okay.

One of their captors, Galen, is stood over his leader and hasn't noticed that he has woken up yet.

McKay kicks his leg out and it connects with Sheppard's.

He remains motionless.

"Sheppard!"

On the second attempt, Sheppard finally groans and opens his eyes.

"That wasn't one of my better landings," he says lifting his head a little.

"You _don't _say. I'll live. Just about."

"Good. Can't say the same about him."

As their captor clears the body, McKay sees the tangled mass of limbs.

It's obvious that his neck was broken on impact. His friends are scattered on the floor of the Jumper. Three of them in total. All unmoving.

The one that's upright, Galen, retrieves Sheppard's from his leader's body and pockets something else from his hands.

When he sees that they are both awake he crosses the short distance between them. His nose is bleeding and his chin is cut open but he's obviously fared better than his friends.

"You killed them!" he accuses Sheppard.

Sheppard straightens with a grimace but doesn't say a word.

"You crashed us on purpose and now they're all dead."

"I don't know what happened." Sheppard tells him flatly and McKay feels guilty for thinking that he's lying.

"Well, you're _going_ to fix it," Galen says and hauls Sheppard to his feet.

McKay doesn't miss the way that Sheppard sways when he's upright, or the twist of his lips when Galen pushes him forward. With his hands tied behind his back, Sheppard loses his balance and falls forward, chest slamming against the front console.

"Get us back into the air."

Sheppard, still pressed against the console and winded, wiggles his hands. "I need… these free."

The ties are cut loose. Sheppard rubs at his wrists and slips into the pilot seat without another word.

"Try anything stupid and I kill your friend."

McKay watches as Sheppard fiddles with the flight controls and then sets his hand down. There's no familiar hum of the engines coming online. Nothing. Not even the lights that signal an ATA gene carrier has interfaced with the technology.

"It's _broken_," Sheppard says, sitting back in his seat.

"You're lying," Galen says.

Even with his unrivaled control of the gene, the ship would have automatically lit up from his touch. His gene is too strong not to respond. It's something which has often been a curse rather than a blessing.

"Can you get the door open?"

"If the controls aren't responding then he wont be able to lower the hatch from there," McKay says and instantly regrets it because all attention comes to him and Sheppard is shooting him an angry glare.

"What do you know about that?"

"I'm a scientist…" McKay sighs. "So, trust me when I say I _know_ how this technology operates."

Sheppard is rolling his eyes now and mouthing for him to shut up, but if he wants out then he has no problem with that. At least out in the open they'd have a better chance of escape and they wouldn't have three dead bodies to stink up the place.

"There's a manual door release back here. That might work."

Galen grabs Sheppard by the arm and drags him over to the rear hatch. When they get there he slams Sheppard bodily into it. McKay winces in sympathy while Sheppard leans down and tries the lever.

Nothing happens.

"Try it again."

"It's screwed," Sheppard informs him.

"Try it again!"

"Must have been damaged in the crash."

Galen lets go and Sheppard falls to his knees, guarding his right side.

"What about the front portal?" Galen asks, wiping some of the blood off his face.

"That isn't going to work. It's reinforced glass which means it will take a lot more than kicking and shooting at it to break."

Silence.

"We're stuck!" McKay snaps at the realization that they are all trapped there. "This is all your fault! Of all the plans you could have that was the best you could come up with. You could have killed us?"

Sheppard's eyes narrow and that dark look is back again. "I didn't crash on purpose, McKay. I don't know what happened."

McKay keeps his voice low. "You lied about going through the clouds….it wasn't the safest way and…"

"If I was going to pull a stunt like that I wouldn't risk it with you in the cockpit. Like I said, I don't know what happened. Everything went dead."

"Enough!" Galen, still clasping the gun in his hand, contemplates it thoughtfully and then turns to McKay. "You seem to know a lot about this ship. I want you to repair it. Make it fly again."

"The ship is broken. He can't-"

Sheppard barely has time to react before he's being punched in the face. His head snaps back and when he looks up, his lip is split open. More blood. More gore.

"Fix the ship or he dies."

"If I get this thing flying I'll need him to pilot it."

"I'll find a way to make this work without him."

McKay wants to say something but he can't find the words. He's too preoccupied with the realization that if he gets the Jumper working again, the minute he touches the controls they will light up like a christmas tree and reveal he too has the gene needed to operate the ship.

"I'll uh…I'll need his help."

"And have you both untied and me outnumbered. I don't think so."

"I need Sheppard. Without him nothing will work. Look, if you want me to help you then you need to trust me."

"It's not you I distrust."

His hand ties are cut and McKay says to Sheppard. "Don't try anything stupid. Okay?"

Sheppard wipes his lip, expression neutral.

McKay stands shakily and rubs his hands together to return circulation. Now he's upright, a headache is beginning to develop and white stars dance in his vision. Perhaps he hit his head harder than he thought.

He pushes passed Galen with an "excuse me! I need room to work." and sets about prizing open a panel under the console.

"Pass me that," he indicates with a snap of his fingers.

Galen looks confused and scans the Jumper.

"The tablet," he says, forcing irritation into his voice. "I need it."

The tablet finds his hands and then Sheppard is squatting beside him and whispering. "We're about thirty klicks from the gate. We've missed our check in. It gives us a few hours before they start scouting for us."

"And you really think we're that lucky?"

Sheppard's expression is grim. "We're about due some good luck, Rodney."

As McKay connects the tablet to do a diagnostic – primarily to try and regain door control – he is aware of movement behind him. Galen is sitting on one of the benches, massaging his head with one hand and aiming the gun at them with the other.

"We could probably take him."

"Or we could end up firing a loaded gun in a cramped space and_ both _end up shot."

"I'm just saying."

"I know what you're saying. I'm sure if it was Ronon stuck here with you that's exactly what you'd be doing, but it isn't. It's me. So, we're not going to anger the crazy man with the weapon." He draws breath. "What do you think he wants with us?"

"The usual."

"Oh, so information that we can't give them followed by torture. Wonderful. And I didn't think this day could possibly get any worse."

"First chance we get, we'll take it."

"I don't know if you've noticed colonel, but we're trapped in here and _again _you're not the one with a gun in his hand."

"Stay positive."

There's a crack of lightening outside that bathes the dark Jumper with light and has them both looking up. The rain starts shortly after, pelting the front window violently. McKay stands, remembering that they had landed by a lake and wonders if the water levels will rise. He can barely see out of the window, but the front end is submerged with water, if the water rises and-

Sheppard gripping his shoulder and pulling him back down breaks him from his inner panic.

"Can you fix this?"

"I've yet to hone my psychic abilities just yet."

Sheppard rolls his eyes. McKay shakes his head and concentrates on getting them out of there.

"What can I do to help?"

"Here," he hands Sheppard the tablet. "Just look for any signs of power fluctuation and…" he makes sure that Galen is out of earshot. "Touch the console now and again to make it look like I need you."

"I can do that. " Sheppard sits with his back against the console with a grimace.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine. Think I broke a few ribs in the crash. You okay?"

"Do I look okay?" McKay whispers. "No, I'm not. I'm tired and hungry and my head aches."

"We just have to wait this out."

"What if Atlantis doesn't send out a team to search for us? What if-"

Sheppard pulls a powerbar out from the tac vest he's still wearing. "Eat this and stop panicking. They'll find us."

"They better."

"If not, I'll kick their asses when we get back."

"You mean if we get back_ not _dead."

"Then I'll haunt them."

"Not funny, colonel."

McKay focuses on his work and a solution. The diagnostics aren't looking good. The drive pods are intact but most of the circuits are fried, the rear compartment controls are a loss and one of the control crystals has a crack through it. He might be able to salvage the crystal but he's not sure he's going to be able to make this thing fly. Even if he can fire up the drive pods the circuitry connecting them to navigation are screwed and the buffer that prevents them from overloading is a loss. He stares at the readings for a while longer, wondering what he should do.

Sheppard is watching him.

"What?"

"You've got that look on your face."

"What look?"

"The one you get when I'm beating you at chess."

"As I recall I won the last round."

"One out of twelve isn't bad." Sheppard glances over his shoulder and then back again. "You can't fix it can you?"

"It's not looking good." He sighs and rocks back on his heels.

"A malfunction maybe?"

"It takes a lot for these ships to come down. "

Galen is admiring Sheppard's weapon. He pulls the magazine out and clicks it back in and then repeats the action again. "You found the problem yet?"

McKay turns to face him. "I've only just started."

"You've had plenty of time."

"There's still work to do." He stammers. "More system checks to run."

"Work faster." Galen tells him balancing the gun on his knee.

--------------

Sheppard shifts beside him and rubs at his arms. They've been sat there for nearly forty minutes and McKay is no closer to finding a solution. There doesn't seem to be enough power to work with and what little power he does get fades away before it can be useful.

"Are you cold?" Sheppard asks, teeth chattering.

"The atmospheric controls have stopped working. It's going to get a lot colder in here."

"Great."

Frustrated, tired and now Sheppard has mentioned it, cold he sighs and announces. "I can't fix this."

Galen's face drops. "The rear hatch?"

"Both the circuitry and the mechanism were damaged by the crash."

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying."

"You're going to fix this ship." Galen looks angry; he's flexing his hands as if anticipating using them. "And you don't have a lot of time to do it."

McKay doesn't know what he's talking about but Galen doesn't elaborate. Instead, he walks over to him calmly, aims his gun at his leg and smiles. "Do you want to re-think your answer?"

Sheppard tenses beside him and eases up onto his knees. McKay knows that he's running through the options, trying to calculate the odds of getting his hands on his gun and actually succeeding. He obviously doesn't like his chances because he drops back onto his heels and settles for clenching his fists instead.

"Doctor?"

"What's the hurry?" he hears the click of the safety being released. "If you give me more time then-"

"Can you fix this ship?"

"No."

It doesn't register that he's been struck across the face until he's face planting onto the floor and all the air is rushing out of his lungs. He doesn't black out, the edges of his vision don't even grey out but the pain is enough to make his eyes water. He feels the blood trickling down his face and checks his nose is still straight.

When he manages to look up, Galen is pointing the gun at Sheppard. He was obviously about to do something monumentally stupid.

"Perhaps you need some motivation," Galen says pressing the gun against the colonel's forehead.

McKay squeezes his eyes closed and waits for the bang, but it never comes.

When he reopens his eyes, Galen is walking away and Sheppard quickly grips him by the arm, a relieved look on his face. "Just stall him. Tell him there's a chance. It'll buy us some time until we figure this out."

"How? I can only pretend to work for so long." The effort of keeping his voice low and even is hurting his head.

"You've done it before and you can-"

What McKay at first believes to be a strike of lightening turns out to be the sound of the gun discharging. When lightening does illuminate the Jumper, Sheppard is staring at him.

"Rodney."

"You've just been given a time limit," Galen says without a hint of remorse.

"I…" The words stick in his throat as his mind processes what just happened.

It isn't until he looks down and sees the blood dribbling out of a smoking hole in his shoulder that he feels it. White hot agony.

Sheppard is quick to press his hand against the wound and is lowering him to sit before he can topple over from the shock.

"I've been shot?"

"Yeah, Rodney. You have."

"Is it…" he pauses and takes a deep breath. "The bullet?"

Sheppard tips him forward and examines his back. It's agony.

"It's a through and through."

McKay thinks that is some small mercy. The last thing he needs is a bullet rattling around his chest.

Sheppard reaches into his tac vest and hands him a wad of gauze. "Just concentrate on breathing and press this against it."

"Okay."

The colonel then turns and stands. "You don't realize it yet, but you're dead." he tells Galen in a low and angry tone.

"Now he has a reason to fix the ship. No stalling. No lying. Just get us in the air."

Sheppard glances down at him and McKay sees everything through a blurry pain-filled haze. Why is it always him getting shot?

"McKay already told you that we're not going anywhere."

Galen invades Sheppard's space, the gun positioned between them, voice threatening. "I think you're both trying to stall. I'd hurry if I were you. The clock is ticking."

……………………………………

He keeps fading in and out. It's unnerving. He drifts back in to hear the end of Sheppard's sentence.

"…says he can't fix it, he's telling the truth."

"I need to get out of here. I'm running out of time!"

"Even if there was a chance, a very slim chance, you've gone and shot him and-"

"He has a reason to try now."

"Look, our people will be searching for us. They'll get us out and you have my word that when they find us... I will let you go."

"I don't believe you."

"Sure you don't. But you don't have many options."

"I'd never get far enough on foot. Flying is the only option."

"Look-" there's the sound of flesh connecting with flesh and then a thud.

A low voice warns. "You're holding out on me."

He loses time again and then –

"McKay!" Sheppard is tapping his cheek insistently. "Hey Buddy. No time to sleep. I need your help."

He opens his eyes and Sheppard has a new bruise under his eye. "I feel weird."

He's pulled forward as the dressing on his wound is changed.

"It's fine. You'll be fine," Sheppard says. "I need your-"

"I'm _going _to die."

"You're not going to die. I'm going to get you _out_ of here."

"I'll have to haunt you. I can't believe I'm going to die."

Sheppard nods tiredly and helps him sit forward to get a better view of the console that they are dealing with.

"Just tell me what to do…"

Galen is pacing behind them and Sheppard looks like he wants to say something but he stops and instead reaches for the tablet. He taps the screen a few times and then turns it around;

_Forget about making this thing fly. Just concentrate on the door controls? Can you do that? _

McKay's breath hitches in his chest as he types back, fingers feeling fat and clumsy.  
_  
Everything is fried. _

"Rodney."

McKay feels like he's slipping away. All he wants to do is sleep. Escape this situation. Leave the exhaustion behind.

Sheppard slaps his cheek again. "Meredith McKay!"

"Hey."

"What do I need to do to get us out of here?"

"We're not getting out of here."

"What's wrong? Losing your touch?"

"Insulting me won't help…"

"It's helping me."

"What…happened to waiting this out?" He does an exaggerated stage whisper. "Stalling him?"

Sheppard bites his lower lip and turns away, a myriad of emotions playing over his face.

"Sheppard?"

"Just don't freak out, okay?"

McKay rolls his eyes. Don't freak out? He's been shot. He's bleeding to death. What else could freak him out?

"He has a bomb."

"What?!"

The colonel shakes his head to say there's no time for questions and for once, McKay clamps his mouth shut. Asking questions hurt anyway. Merely concentrating on breathing and staving alive hurts even more.

"Just…help me out here."

"Give me the tablet."

For the first time in his life, under pressure, ego at stake, McKay finds that he cannot operate under these conditions. There's a dead man lying not more than a foot away from him and he's distracted by the sound of his own raspy breathing.

Usually he's good at this. Give him a deadline and he can produce a miracle. This time he's not so sure.

The tablet spits out more useless information, tells him another circuit has blown and he slaps his thigh in frustration.

"Rodney?"

"You need to remove that circuit," he points with his left hand because the right refuses to co-operate.

Sheppard, using the only tools they have, starts to lift the tiny little fuse from the console. McKay notices that his hands are shaking and when he looks more carefully he notices that he's sweating and that his cheeks are slightly flushed. The environmental controls aren't functioning. He should be freezing by now.

"Aren't you cold?"

Sheppard ignores him.

"How are you feeling?" Galen asks him from where he's propped himself in the passenger seat. All McKay can see of him is his boots.

"Dying!" McKay snaps, momentarily forgetting there's a gun pointed above his head.

"You're running out of time."

McKay eyes the mass of wires in front of him and then looks down at the floor. It's coated with blood. His blood. And he wants to scream "I know that!"

"You know, if you shut up we might work faster," Sheppard retorts and McKay can't help but think he sounds like him when he's working on something important.

Sheppard drops the chip he's just released from its casing and curses.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, Rodney." Sheppard grits out, but he's guarding his side again and twisting his lips as he grapples to pick the chip up.

Under scrutiny, Sheppard wipes his forehead and says, "Sitting like this is killing my ribs."

"You're going to need to rearrange the order of the crystals," McKay says. "I really…" he looks back to the wires and tries to ignore the sound of his wheezing breaths.

In and out. In and out. In and out.

"Focus, McKay."

He is focusing. On not dying, that is.

"The order," he says. "Rearrange them."

"Rearrange the…dammit!" Sheppard pulls his hand back and sucks his finger.

"Thought you had… to…. have steady hands… to be a pilot?"

"That's a surgeon. And I do, normally. Just tell me what order…McKay?"

"Wh-"

"You're not going to faint on me. I need your help."

"I'm not going to faint." He tells him. "Switch the left and the right one. You need to change the circuit boards…"

Sheppard starts work and McKay studies the tablet, humming to himself, head about to explode, pulse racing when suddenly there's a burst of power and the ship vibrates. It only lasts a second but McKay is quick to work out which system was responsible and to download the relevant data.

"What just happened?" Galen asks.

"What did you do?" McKay accuses Sheppard.

Sheppard holds his hands up. "No idea. Think I accidentally shorted something."

McKay blinks to refocus on the tablet. "One of the drive pods fired up. Not enough to sustain flight but enough to show that-" he peters off, lost in a trail of thought.

"You have-"

"Shut up!" McKay says raising his finger to stall his captor's words. "This…can't be right."

"What?" Galen asks.

"It fired up but something dampened-" he tails off and shakes his head.

"What have you found?" Galen asks slowly and they are both pressed in so close that McKay feels claustrophobic.

This can't be right.

"The flight log shows that earlier there was a simultaneous failure of every system on board. Flight controls, drive pods, power cells…they all just died."

"Told you…I wasn't…lying," Sheppard tells him in a broken voice.

"What are you saying?" Galen asks.

"Something disrupted the power flow…something on board or something on the ground. We literally fell out of the sky. Just like then. The drive pods tried to fire up but they just died again. That can't be-"

It just doesn't happen.

"Pass me a scanner," McKay orders with a weak snap of his fingers.

Sheppard moves sluggishly to the rear of the Jumper and comes back with the scanner. He presses it into McKay's hands and the screen lights up.

"You have the gene?" Galen smiles.

McKay ignores him. He blinks to clear his vision and focuses on the read out.

"Whatever is causing the interference is coming from-" he pauses and points at Galen. "-you?"

Galen seems panicked all of a sudden.

"What the hell is that?" Sheppard asks.

Galen pulls a small device from his pocket and wipes at his face.

Sheppard sighs. "That's what caused the Jumper to crash?"

"Apparently. What did you use to construct it?"

And just like that Galen's demeanor changes from a man in control to a man who might have lost everything. "We couldn't source out refined materials. We had to improvise. If we don't leave here soon it won't serve its purpose."

"It's unstable? You do realize how completely idiotic that is? I can't believe it even survived the crash!"

Galen leans against the hull wall as if all of his energy has been sapped. For the first time since they were captured, he looks defeated. "Our cities are at war. We were delivering the device to destroy their council and we don't have long before it goes off. We won't be able to reach our target in time but we'll be able to get close enough to make enough damage."

"So that explains the rush to get out of here," Sheppard says. "And if the bomb goes off here?"

"It'll take out the surrounding villages." Galen swallows and looks like he's going to be sick. "Our own people."

McKay fades out and back in again to hear Sheppard making an order. "Turn it off."

"I can't. There's no way to stop it."

McKay clears his throat. "With that bomb active its going to interfere with the navigational controls. The only way this thing will fly is if-"

"Then find a work around…"

"It's not that simple!"

"Make it that simple."

The argument leaves McKay panting for breath.

"I've checked the data. That bomb is interfering with this equipment. With it active we can't fly or open the doors or even turn on environmental controls."

"We cannot stay here." Galen tells them. "My people will be killed. This will all be for nothing. Their deaths, mine…."

"What about ours?" McKay asks. "And you killed your friends by bringing that...that...piece of crap on board!"

"We were desperate!" Galen snaps back. "This was the perfect delivery method."

Sheppard gets up and leans against the console. "We're not going to help you deliver a bomb."

Galen paces, in one hand the bomb, the other the gun.

"But we're not going to let you kill your people either. McKay?"

McKay looks up but doesn't have the energy to respond.

"The drive pods?"

"What about them?"

"Before we went down the HUD bought up the dimensions of this lake. It's deep."

McKay, although slow to connect the dots, finally understands what he is suggesting. "Oh no, no."

"What?" Galen asks taking a step forward.

"The only way we're going to get out of here is through that," Sheppard points at the front portal. "And if it's deep enough that bomb should be contained as well."

"What if it isn't?"

"McKay, we're going to die if we stay here. We might not die if we try this."

Galen grabs Sheppard by the arm and pulls him up. "What are you talking about?"

"He wants to blow up a drive pod. He wants to _blow_ up something _explosive _with an _explosive_ on board."

"I'd set a small charge of C4 on the drive pod."

"You have no idea that the blast will be small enough not to just kill us outright!"

Sheppard continues. "If we can close this central bulkhead door then we can contain the blast and the resulting explosion should jettison us into the lake."

"You're relying on the drive pod, unstable at the moment i might add, to blow up and send us in that direction," he hooks a finger over his shoulder. "The odds of that happening are-"

"We wait for the portal to crack and then-"

"Drown. Most likely drown."

"Swim up and get as far as we can as quickly as we can." He meets McKay's glare. "Either way, we'd be containing the blast from the villages."

"You're insane."

"At least this time I would deliberately be crashing the Jumper."

McKay bites back a retort and feels guilty all over again.

Galen doesn't look convinced. "Will you let me go?"

"I'll give you a head start."

Galen considers his options and finally concedes. "What do we need to do?"

"Well, first-" Sheppard takes a step forward and relinquishes his weapon off Galen. He releases the magazine onto the floor and puts the gun in his calf holster.

Galen narrows his eyes and Sheppard points at McKay. "Keep pressure on his shoulder."

"Sheppard, you can access the drive pod through the inner hull. The compartment should be above-"

"Got it," Shepard says popping the knife he used to open it between his teeth.

He rips at wires and puts C4 into the compartment. He'll have to remote detonate it if they have any chance of escape.

Sheppard indicates to the bulkhead doors. "We need to close this."

"I thought you said the systems were dead?"

"They are, but-" Sheppard pulls in a handle just behind the pilot seat. "-we can retract is manually."

Galen gets up to assist. They both pull and push and McKay suspects it is Galen's strength that enables them to close it.

In the end Sheppard is panting, bent over awkwardly and pressing his hand to his side. "How long before the bomb detonates?"

"Don't worry about that." Galen tells him, eyeing up the magazine clip in the floor. "I can move the timer forward."

With the door closed and the C4 set, Sheppard tells McKay to huddle under the console but Sheppard doesn't join him. He sits in the pilot seat and ducks his head, detonator in hand.

"You ready?" he asks everyone.

Galen, in the passenger seat is mimicking him, head down between his knees.

"As I'll ever be," McKay answers. He has a flashback from when this happened before. It didn't end so well.

"Okay, one, two, ah-" Sheppard pauses suddenly and grips his side.

"What's wrong?"

Sheppard shakes his head. "Nothing, Rodney. I'm fine"

"Sheppard?"

"Get back under that console and cover your head." He pauses and takes in a shallow breath.

"Are you going to press it?"

"Give me a second."

Galen sighs heavily. "Can we get this over with?"

Sheppard shoots both of them daggers. "Okay, one, two and-"

The minute he presses the detonator the Jumper is rocked by the force. The entire hull rattles, the floors, the ceilings, they vibrate and McKay's ears are ringing.

Sheppard and Galen are hanging on as best they can but then he realizes that they're not just dropping into the lake, they're rolling and the colonel looses his grip and slams into the hull repeatedly.

What probably only lasts a second, feels like an eternity. Time slows and suddenly speeds up when the Jumper crashes through the water and is completely submerged. As the sky disappears they drop a few feet, tip over the edge of a precipice and start their descent into the dark depths of the lake.

There is silence for a while. All McKay can hear is his own heartbeat pounding in his ears and when he manages to calm down a little he is aware of the low groaning of his companions, who appeared to have taken much more of a beating that him. It doesn't mean that didn't hurt though. Having his shoulder repeatedly rammed into the side of the console wasn't exactly a barrel of laughs.

Galen gets up from the floor, rubbing his neck and he's covered in blood. "You sure this lake is deep enough?"

"If Sheppard says it is, then I trust him."

Sheppard is lying on the floor, awake but just staring at the ceiling.

"Are you okay?" McKay asks, afraid to move.

"Not one of my better landings," Sheppard grins and attempts to move. He pushes his hand up, lets out a little squawk of pain and then decides against movement altogether.

"What now?" Galen asks, pushing one of his dead friends away from his feet.

The hull creaks ominously and somewhere McKay can hear water spilling in. It doesn't appear to be in their section yet.

"We wait," McKay tells him and struggles out from his hiding position. His shoulder is throbbing painfully.

"We wait," Sheppard repeats before sitting up and blinking dizzily. He looks confused.

"Sheppard?" McKay crawls over to him and snaps his fingers in front of his eyes to get him to track. "You with us?"

"Yeah…" he pauses. "Think so."

He goes to sit up and braces himself on McKay, which causes him to yelp out. Sheppard pales and swallows thickly.

"What is going on with you?"

Sheppard narrows his eyes and rubs his head. "What?"

"Sheppard?"

"Huh?"

"What year is it, Colonel? Do you know your name? Where are we? "

"2008, John Sheppard and fucked ."

"So, you're not brain damaged. What is-"

"Nothing, I'm-" he coughs into his fist, ragged and loud and when he removes his hand it is splattered with blood.

"You are not fine. That is not fine."

"I think I've got some… internal bleeding."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't want you to worry. Didn't want to slow you down."

"I've been shot. I'm as slowed down as I can be."

Galen is leaning against the console and staring out into the blue. "The window. It's cracking!"

McKay and Sheppard both look up. There is a spider crack appearing and it's spreading out. It will only be a matter of time before the water starts to seep through.

"Can you get up?" Sheppard asks him.

"Can you?"

"Just about."

Supporting one another they manage to get upright just in time for the crack to spread across the middle section of the window.

"Step back," Sheppard tells Galen. "When that goes you don't want to be standing right in front of it."

Galen glances over his shoulder. "I've failed my people."

Sheppard reaches forward and hauls him to stand beside them.

They stand there in the dark, in complete silence, waiting until…

---------------------------------------------

McKay pushes himself up on shaky arms and scans the water. It's still raining and the water ripples everywhere.

"Sheppard!" he shouts out, knowing it's futile because the water deafens everything to a dull roar. He won't be able to hear him.

He's not meant to die like this. Not like this.

He turns to look behind him. Galen has gone. Taken the chance that McKay now thinks Sheppard shouldn't have given him. He doesn't know whether to be scared by himself by that thought popping up unsuppressed.

If he continue to sit here, freezing cold and bleeding out, he will die but he's not sure he can leave without the colonel. He'd rather die for real than endure a living death of guilt.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't tell Teyla and Ronon that he'd just walked away and left Sheppard to die.

He sits in silence.

Waiting.

Staring into the black water.

"Are you going to sit there all day. There's a bomb about to explode."

McKay nearly gets whiplash looking behind him and Sheppard is standing there. In the light he can see that he's covered in bruises and his hair is matted with leaves and mud.

"I thought-"

Sheppard pitches over and slides to his knees. One hand slaps down onto the mud, the other wraps around his side.

"Came out over there." He gestures with a nod. "Saw you just sitting here when you should be running away from the bomb that's about to-" Sheppard pauses, shoots McKay a look and then he's grabbing McKay by the arm and dragging him up to stand. "-explode!"

McKay feels himself fading away again. Maybe it's the pain or the exhaustion or a combination of them both but he feels like he's floating. The only sound that tethers him to reality is the sound of Sheppard's breathing.

When the explosion happens it's nothing like he expects. The ground shakes below them, sending them both sprawling to the mud and then water and earth and bits of trees are raining down on them. McKay feels something thump into his shoulder and he cries out, edges of his vision turning black. Sheppard covers him and he listens to the sounds of the earth being torn apart. It feels like it will never end. He feels like this is it.

---------------------------------------------

When he comes to, Sheppard is still lying over him, and although McKay appreciates the sentiment he's starting to get a dead leg.

"Sheppard!" he blinks and stares up at the sky. The rain is falling but now he wonders if that's the lake coming down as well.

"Sheppard?"

The colonel doesn't move. It's annoying.

"I can't push you…" he rasps and hits Sheppard's arm. "Your elbow is digging into my gunshot wound. Which is all your fault by the way." Nothing. "Sheppard?"

Finding some latent reserve of strength, he manages to roll Sheppard onto his side. The colonel flops onto his back, arms spread eagled beside him and McKay presses in close. He's paler than he's looked. Cold? No. When he presses his hands against his forehead he's still burning up. His breathing is shallow and when McKay finds a pulse it's weak and thready beneath his fingertips.

"Sheppard," he slaps his face. "Wake up."

A groan. A flicker of life under his eyelids.

"Sheppard!"

That's when he notices the blood.

"You…"

McKay pushes aside the tac vest and pulls up his t-shirt.

"You lied!" he says in a small voice.

There's a bruise the size of McKay's hand covering the side of Sheppard chest and blood, so much blood.

"Oh my -"

McKay has to turn away not to vomit when he spots what has been causing Sheppard's discomfort. One of his ribs was obviously broken but part of it has burst through the skin. That must be agony.

"Sheppard," he shakes his shoulder and wills for the solider to respond. They've survived two crashes and an explosion. This can't be it.

"Wake up, you idiot!"

"I'mup," Sheppard slurs and opens his eyes.

"Broken a few ribs, internal bleeding…." he tries and fails to mimick Sheppard's drawl. "What you _failed _to mention is the rib protruding from your chest, Sheppard!"

"What?" Sheppard manages to raise his head a fraction and when he sees the object of McKay's disgust he rolls to the side and throws up.

McKay lies on his back, suddenly feel drained of all energy. "You okay?"

Sheppard coughs and spits beside him. "No."

"Are you seriously telling me you had no idea how bad that was?"

Sheppard grunts beside him.

His final words before he passes out are the truth. "You scare the shit out of me sometimes."

---------------------------------------------

When McKay wakes up he feels a sense of relief. His shoulder hurts like a bitch but he can hear the soothing sounds of a heart monitor and the sting of an IV needle in his hand. Home. Or more to the point – the infirmary.

He cracks an eye open and Teyla is the first by his side. She grips his hand in hers and McKay thinks that he's never seen anyone so beautiful in all his life. Or maybe that's the drugs.

"Rodney. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was shot."

Teyla smiles at him and strokes his hand. "You were extremely lucky that Lorne and his team found you both when they did."

"Lorne found us?"

"Yes. You had been unconscious for quite a time and had both lost a lot of blood."

"Both?" McKay tries to form memories and comes across one that has him angry all over again. "Sheppard? Is he-"

Teyla takes a step back and Sheppard is sat up in bed with Ronon beside him.

Sheppard waves.

"Hi," McKay says tiredly.

"They poked my rib back in," Sheppard tells him with a goofy smile.

"That is just…I can't believe you even…" McKay cannot find the words but his heart monitor is creeping up a notch.

"It was pretty cool," Ronon says. "Most gruesome thing I've ever seen."

"Ronon," Teyla warns.

"I once broke my fingers and the bones popped out the other-side of my hand, but that was-" Sheppard shakes his head. "You got a picture, right?"

McKay sits up a little and stares pointedly at Sheppard. "Are you seriously talking about how cool your nearly fatal injury was?"

Sheppard goes to cross his arms and then aborts that idea given the placement of his injury. "I'm all fixed up, Rodney."

"But not in the head."

"I think someone is cranky," Sheppard tells the others and Ronon and Teyla get the hint.

Ronon slaps Sheppard on the shoulder and does the same to McKay's leg and Teyla wishes them both well soon and chides Ronon as they leave for beating on the injured.

McKay lies back down and juts his chin out.

"What? You're not talking to me?"

"You could have died and you're joking about it."

"Have to," Sheppard tells him in a flat voice. "Otherwise i might..."

McKay rolls over to look at him. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know," Sheppard waves a hand dismissively and rubs his eyes. "On the good drugs, don't know what I'm saying…"

"Sheppard."

"Ignore me."

"No."

"It's just…" he sighs. "I…uh…I didn't realize I was that badly injured."

Sheppard lies flat on his back and grimaces.

"Well you are an idiot."

"Rodney. Play nice."

"Fine. I apologise. Please continue."

"Guess it just…" he misses out a few words and says. "…how I can just gloss over the details like that. What I'm willing to do to survive and to help others survive." He pauses and laughs. "I'm rambling. The drugs…I talk shit on them."

Sheppard didn't say the words but they were there, hanging between them, for a few seconds. What Sheppard wanted and didn't say was "sometimes I scare myself." At least McKay isn't alone in that feeling. He wants to say that he gets it, but he doesn't. Instead, he lies there in silence.

"You sleeping?" Sheppard asks. "I'm bored."

"Why don't you go and crash your gurney. You're good at that."

"I told you i didn't-"

"I know." He clears his throat. "I was just joking. You have to, don't you?"

Sheppard is staring at him. He smiles. "Yeah. Sometimes you do."

---------------------------------------------

Prompt; Erika wanted Sheppard and Rodney. Both whumped, but Shep is more  
seriously injured. Something involving torture and imprisonment. Just one tiny  
bit of infirmary at the end, and a lot of whump and caring for each other,  
including a daring escape. No rescue, they need to escape on their own. Gen  
only please. PS: I like Shep!Blood a LOT .

A/N - I didn't exactly follow the prompt. Bascially, i didn't want to write the old cliche of Sheppard and Rodney imprisioned in a cell and being beaten on for information. I figured this might be a little bit different. The basic parts were there - imprisonment, beatings, torture? and they escaped on their own! yeah! Drop me a comment and let me know how i did. I really struggled writing this so i hope it lives up to expectations and apologies for this being late. This has only been checked by me. Wanted to give Kristen999 a much needed break as i know she's still sorting her fic out as well.


End file.
